1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a portable game machine comprised of an elongated housing in which a game ball can be inserted and then moved towards a goal located at either end based on suitable manipulation of elements within the machine by two or more competing game players positioned on either side of the housing. The present invention is related to the invention described and claimed in the applicants' copending application Ser. No. 161,450, filed June 20, 1980.
2. The Prior Art
Competitive game machines that comprise a housing in which a projectile can be moved towards opposite ends by the manipulation of elements within the housing are well known. Many of these game machines are constructed such that when played they will simulate the playing of a basketball game.
One known game machine which can be used by a single player to play a type of game which represents a combination of simulated basketball, golf and skeeball is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,537,707 (Goldberg). This device comprises an elongated housing which has a basket-like goal mounted on one housing end wall and which includes a throwing device mounted to extend between and through slots in the side walls of the housing near the opposite housing end wall. The throwing element comprises a rotatable shaft and a holding member fixedly mounted to its center, the holding member including a sloping lip for cupping a game ball. The ends of the rotatable shaft are separately translatable along the side wall slots, and the shaft is also freely rotatable so as to cause the holding member to project a game ball positioned in the holding member towards the basket-like goal. The game ball can be picked up from the smooth, inclined base of the device by both the appropriate sideways or translatable movement of the rotatable shaft, as well as its timely rotation.
A somewhat more complicated game machine is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,977,675 (Leuthy). In this device, which can be played by two or more players, an elongated housing has identical barriers positioned near the opposite housing end walls (the barriers having a lesser height than the housing end walls) to form goal areas therebehind (each barrier including a goal opening in its lower side located in contact with the flat floor 4 of the housing), and also positioned therein between the barriers are multiple projector elements. Each of the projector elements comprises an elongated rotatable shaft which extends between and through holes in the housing side walls, and a plurality of paddles are fixedly connected to each rod, each paddle being capable of contacting and projecting a game ball inside the housing towards either barrier, e.g., either along the housing floor or in the air, depending on how it is manipulated.
A much differently constructed game machine is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,947,031 (Goldfarb et al). In this device, which comprises a very narrow elongated housing in which a game disk is projected towards baskets located on the opposite housing end walls, a number of player character-figures and two goalkeeper character-figures are positioned in the housing to manipulate and control the movement of the game disk. Each player character-figure is not only vertically movable, but each includes oppositely directed arms which are separately pivotable around separate pivot pins attached to the head section, with each arm being connected via a linkage system to a lever handle located on the outer side of opposite housing side walls. These arms (which overlap in the longitudinal dimension of the housing with the arms of the next adjacent player character-figure) effectively form the floor of the game machine. Separate linkage systems operable by game players on opposite sides of the game machine can cause the opposing goalkeeper character-figures to rise and fall within the housing and thus, by way of a vertically-extending arm portions thereof, block the entry of the game disk into the adjacent basket.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a competition game machine which is portable, which is operable without batteries, which will be constructed so as to help the players thereof develop coordination, timing and other skills often obtained only in actual physical sports participation, and which can have its operating characteristics easily modified, for example, by changing the size and weight of the game ball used therein, by changing the shapes of the various elements inside the machine which contact the game ball, or by mounting a net inside the machine to extend from side-to-side and thus drastically alter the technique required for moving a game ball from one end of the machine to the other.